Dutch Oven Bread

I just remembered to update my previous post on the No-Knead bread, which I've been calling Dutch Oven bread also. I followed directions this time and used a dish towel on the second rise.  It made such an improvement:

Totally love this easy, beautiful bread!

Vegan version of Linda's Egg/Spring rolls

I made a vegan version of Linda's egg/spring rolls with slight adjustments. I added some ginger and sesame to make up for the punch of the fish sauce.

I mixed together:
1 lb of firm tofu, smashed up with your hands
1 cup of finely shredded cabbage
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
cooked rice vermicelli noodles, about a cup (roughly chopped so they aren't long)
1 egg
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP of minced ginger
2 TBSP of sesame oil
1 TBSP roasted sesame seeds
generous sprinkle of pepper
scant TBSP of soy sauce

The filling can be made gluten-free if using tamari instead of soy sauce, so I tried to see if I could fry up some of the rice paper that I used for salad rolls to see if I could make gluten-free spring rolls:

I stuck it in the pan with the regular (vegan) spring roll wrappers:

They browned nicely, but the rice wrappers became very al dente and a bit chewy to eat.

So I'm still working on a gluten-free version of these rolls, but in the meantime, these vegan spring rolls are pretty dynamite!

Linda's Egg/Spring rolls

My friend Linda texted me a recipe for egg rolls that she made for her vegetarian/pescetarian son that looked so easy, I thought I'd give it a go. And what better day than the first day of the lunar new year--Happy Year of the Snake everyone!

Mix together:
1 container of firm tofu (I used a 16 oz block), smashed up with your hands
1 cup of finely shredded cabbage
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
cooked rice vermicelli noodles (roughly chopped so they aren't long)
1 egg
minced garlic (I used 2 cloves worth)
pepper (I used a generous sprinkle)
scant TBSP of fish sauce

Beat an egg in a bowl--this will be the sealant.

I used spring roll wrappers because I like the thinner wrappers and I'm able to find them made without egg (i.e., vegan for me).

Put the wrapper on the diagonal. I was able to put about 1/4 cup of filling on the lower third: 

Roll up from the bottom (south) point until even with the west and east points:

Then fold the side points in and continue to roll towards to the top:

Brush some egg on the last little triangle and then finish rolling up to seal up the wrapper:

These are usually deep-fried, but Linda said it's a waste of oil. She said just heat up about 1/8" of oil in a pan, but you'll have to rotate and cook all four sides.

Her suggestions of dipping sauce were either the typical fish sauce mix that is eaten with spring rolls or a Thai-ish sauce of hoisin sauce and peanut butter (about 3 parts hoison to 1 part peanut butter).

I made a fish sauce dipping sauce by mixing up:
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbs of fish sauce
1 tbsp of vinegar
juice from a lime wedge or two
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp of chili-garlic sauce

I also made the old standby dipping sauce my mom would make which is just equal parts soy sauce to vinegar (she used white, I use rice).

Tasty way to start the Year of the Snake!

Vegan Furikake

I love gomasio on rice (which is just ground toasted sesame seeds and salt), but the addition of seaweed makes the rice even more interesting.  Furikake is typically, a combination of gomasio with seaweed and bonito (fish) flakes.  I decided to make a vegan version substituting kelp powder/granules to supplement the briny flavor without the fish flakes.

Vegan Furikake

1/4 cup sesame seeds (white or black or a combo of both)
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp kelp powder or granules
1 sheet of seaweed/nori (the non-roasted & salted kind--the kind used for sushi)

A major key is to toast the sesame seeds over low to medium heat in a skillet.  You want them to become toasted and fragrant.  A sign they're done is when they start popping:

Then quickly toast the nori sheet.  It toasts up real quick--it'll kind of curl up and change to a lighter color.  I cut it in smaller pieces to fit flatly in my skillet:

You can use a coffee grinder, mortar & pestle, or a suribachi like mine.  If you use a coffee grinder, set aside half the sesame seeds in a jar.  If you use a mortar & pestle or suribachi, set aside a fat tablespoon.  Grind the remaining sesame seeds, salt, and kelp powder/granules until coarsely ground:

This is the kelp granules I use:

Using kitchen shears, cut the seaweed into strips, then into smaller pieces:

Add everything to the jar with the whole sesame seeds and mix:

Really jazzes up brown rice and tofu!

Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancakes)

I was gifted with Marja Vongerichten's cookbook, "The Kimchi Chronicles" and had to make these sweet Korean pancakes--makes the best breakfast on a chilly weekend morning:

This video slideshow does a great job demonstrating the recipe and what everything is supposed to look like at various stages.  It may seem challenging but it came together pretty easily.  Here's my balls of dough waiting to be filled.

I went with the traditional brown sugar and nut mix as well as vegan chocolate chips:

And they cook very easily in the fry pan:

And beautifully.  You don't want to cook too fast on high heat because you want to give the filling time to melt inside:

Love that crispy golden brown color:

That melty chocolate goodness is heavenly!

I recommend making them when you have guests and can eat all of them while they're warm. They're a little less dazzling once they're cold. Looking forward to making these again soon...

Vegan GF version of Sesame Chicken Noodle Soup

During the time when both my husband and daughter came done with the FrankenFlu of 2013 (after I recovered from it), I made them this Sesame Chicken Noodle Soup from this recipe at Epicurious:

They loved it but I also altered it to make a vegan, gluten-free version:

Sesame Tofu Noodle Soup

Toss together:

1 pound tofu, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons gluten-free tamari
2 tablespoons dry Sherry (I didn't have any--I used rice vinegar)
1 tablespoons dark sesame oil

In a separate bowl, mix together:

3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add 4 cups chopped cabbage (ideally Napa cabbage, but I used standard green) and 6 chopped green onions and sauté until cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes. Add 2 quarts vegetable broth and bring to boil. Add tofu mixture and tahini-garlic mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer until soup is hot, about 5 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup chopped cilantro.

Separately cook about 8 oz of rice noodles according to package directions.  Lay some in a bowl and ladle hot soup on top.  Top with more chopped cilantro if you like.

Brought the tofu soup to a friends house to share--the kids loved it!  Either way, both soups are great comfort food on a chilly day.

Buffalo Tofu

Sometimes I crave the flavor of a certain food, though not necessarily all that goes with it.  Like sometimes when I'm watching football, I really crave the spiciness of Buffalo wings, but not necessarily the wings.  So I made some Buffalo Tofu.  I cut a pound of some pressed firm tofu into sticks and panfried them to give them a little "bite".

Then I heated up half a cup of Frank's Hot Sauce, a tablespoon of margarine, and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder just until it was warm and blended.  Them I tossed the tofu sticks:

Whipped up a simple vegan ranch sauce with 1/4 cup vegan mayo, 1 tsp of dried parsley, 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, and about 1 TBSP of rice milk to thin it into a sauce (add more if necessary).

Hits the spicy spot!